Harry Potter and the Forest of Life
by White is the Snow
Summary: Sometimes we wake and cannot recall the dream we having. For H, it is not a dream, but his whole life that he cannot recall upon waking up naked on the forest floor. Who he is and how he came to be there are questions without answers and the dreams about odd people and strange places don't help to settle him in the least. Time will only tell, but how much does he have?


Edited version.

* * *

Some time on an unknown day at an uncharted point in an un-named forest somewhere

H. His name began with an 'H', but what came after eluded him completely. In fact, he could hardly recall anything. He knew only what surrounded him and that his name began with the eighth letter of the alphabet. Truthfully, it wasn't all that bad.

H got the feeling that _not _thinking was a very rare occurrence for him and that when he did think his thoughts were rather...undesirable at best. He knew that something had happened that had landed him in a clearing in the center of some forest. He also knew that he was very much naked and that the weather was warm enough that it didn't matter. The only thing that bugged him was a slight pressure at the base of his skull. Had he hit his head?

Well, whatever the case may be, H knew that he needed to find shelter and water before nightfall. He slowly rose from his sitting position and navigated his way through the forest as best he could. He was aware that in a situation like this, most people would panic or be afraid, but he got the feeling that his pervious life and been whirlwind enough to make him Panic and Fear proof. If only he knew...

By the time the sun was sinking into the distant hills and painting the sky a myriad of colors, H had gathered wood and kindling for a fire, found a cave that was clearly unoccupied by anything larger than a mouse for shelter, set a few small traps, gathered some plants that a voice in his mind assured him were edible, and caught a couple fish from a stream that ran near the cave. That same stream had led him to a medium sized pool that was fed by a small cascade. Under the cool falls he washed his skin and from the falls he collected water to drink.

Prior to this, H trekked back to his new 'home base' and lit a fire. It would be used for not only warmth and food, but for warding off unwanted guests from the Animal Kingdom. As he sat and ate his roasted fish and drank his water, H thought about his odd situation. He couldn't remember his name, save for one letter, or any aspect of his life before waking on the forest floor, but he knew how to survive and the names and effects of everything he had seen in the forest so far. It was as if he had been left in this place for a reason.

Maybe someone was attempting to hide him from everyone including himself. It couldn't have been that he was on a hunting or camping trip and had hurt his head because those situations often involved being clothed. Maybe he had been through something traumatizing...

Well, H thought, no use wasting time pondering memories I don't _actually_ have access too. And with that, he set to work on preparing a comfortable sleeping pace for the night. H failed to notice the dozens of eyes that every so often glinted from the fire's light. He was safe because the eyes that watched would not allow Nature's child to be harmed.

* * *

11:52 P.M, August 31st of 1991, Hogwarts Headmaster's Chambers, where Albus lay sleeping

Albus Dumbledore was a very heavy sleeper. He was confident in his abilities and even more confident in his defenses so he had no reason to be restless at night. Hogwarts would keep her children and her staff as safe as any mother grizzly would keep her cubs even though only the teachers inhabited her at present. So, Albus slept peacefully in his cushy bed with his soft pillows and warm blankets even as the clock struck 12 midnight and the alarms that were tied to the Dursley home, and the safe house of one Harry James Potter, blared to life.

Had he been less confident in his own safely and well-being, Albus Dumbledore may have noticed that the alarms had also been set to go off for only five brief minutes before silencing themselves and never stirring again unless something new triggered them. Had he noticed either of these things, he would not have been as surprised when Harry didn't show up at Hogwarts on September first with the rest of his year mates.

The moment he _had_ realized that Harry was missing was a sight to see, however. The whole of the Great Hall was silent as McGonagall called out "Potter, Harry!" and no one stepped forward. The unsorted first years looked around at each other hoping to see a smirking face that would soon burst into laughter and tell them that they should all see the looks on their respective faces. This defining moment never came, however, because McGonagall repeated the name three more times, each more of a plea than the last, and each time there was no reply whatsoever.

The sorting continued, but the cheering was more subdued and the Hall now carried a sullen sort of air about it. The feast was spent in silence and the first years did not celebrate the sorting that night. Everyone wondered about the missing Savior and everyone mourned his disappearance, Albus more than anyone else.

7:03 A.M. September 2nd of '91, number four Private Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey

* * *

Severus Snap scowled as his eyes landed on the door of the house that was inhabited by the Dursley family and Harry _Bloody_ Potter. The Headmaster may be a very good wizard, but they do say there is a thin, thin line between genius and insanity. Dumbledor was walking that line when he chose to send Snape to look into the Potter brat's inadvertent disappearance. Snape didn't like Petunia and Snape defiantly didn't like any Potter, old or new, so why in the world was he the poor fool selected to investigate the boy's 'case'?

Nonetheless, it was his job to do and so it shall be done. He knocked reluctantly on the door of the Dursley home and hoped for all he was worth that no one answered. Lady Luck was not his friend today it would seem, because mere seconds after his knock came an answer. "Just a moment!" came a shrill harpy's screech from behind the door. Snape only avoided flinching by the sheer power of his own will.

The door abruptly opened to reveal a petite woman with almost no meat on her bones and horse like look about her. "I'm here to inquire about your nephew's whereabouts, is he here?" Snape snapped at the woman.

"I beg your pardon sir, but I have no nephew and if I did he would not be here of all places, he would be with his frea-" she cleared her throat before correcting what she was about to say. "He would be with his parents." she snarled the last word as if it were an insult.

Snape glared at Petunia with all the intensity of a snake prepared to strike. "You must be kidding, but i assure you, you can stop because it is entirely unamusing and not funny in the slightest Madame." He sneered.

"I am not joking!" Petunia screeched at him. "I have no nephew as far as I know and i would not want to know him if I did!" and then she slammed the door shut tight.

Snape, in a rather foul mood by now, glared at anything, or one, that happened to catch his eye. Once in a location that was out of muggle view, he apperated to a designated spot just outside the castle grounds and proceeded to make his way up the path to Hogwarts. He swiftly made his way the Headmaster's Office and promptly told all that he had gathered from his brief encounter with Petunia Dursley and then left without another word.

Once in his own chambers and safely hidden away from prying eyes, Snape let himself think about the implications of all he had heard today. Harry Potter was gone. He had just right and truly vanished without a trace. This meant that, should the Dark Lord return, the Light wouldn't stand an ice cube's chance in Hell of fighting him. Snape considered himself, and all of the non-supporters, royally screwed.

The forest, some time on a random day

* * *

H woke from a dream about a chaotic world in which old men in funky robes and long, white beards had eyes that twinkled unnaturally until they found out that their plans had gone all wonky and cruel looking men with greasy hair and hooked noses got chewed out by horsey women in white aprons. He wondered if this was his life before he woke in the forest. Was he the boy that had not shown up to that odd school? Was he that woman's nephew? Did it matter?

H decided that is this had been his life; he would much rather live naked among the trees and the beasts that were never secretive about their intentions. And so, whit little thought and little trouble, H fell quickly back to sleep.

Le Fin!

Whacha think? Let me know please! ^_^

~Sinful~


End file.
